Melanie, singer who played Woodstock in 1969, dies aged 76

Melanie, the husky-voiced American singer-songwriter who enthralled Woodstock music festival crowds in 1969 and topped charts with the hit single ‘Brand New Key,’ died on Tuesday. She was 76.

Leilah, Jeordie and Beau Jarred, Melanie’s children, announced their mother’s death on social media, describing her as “one of the most talented, strong and passionate women of the era and every word she wrote, every note she sang reflected that.” A cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

Born Melanie Safka in Queens, New York, Melanie found her start in the 1960s folk clubs of Greenwich Village. Quickly signing with the Buddah label, Melanie released her debut album Born to Be in 1968, finding success in Europe as the album reached Top 10 in France and the Netherlands.

The following year, when Melanie was only 22, she became one of three women to appear unaccompanied at the Woodstock festival, along with Janis Joplin and Joan Baez. Melanie later cited that day, particularly the image of audience members lighting candles in the crowd as it rained, as the inspiration behind her gospel-tinged hit ‘Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),’ which reached No.6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Melanie’s most popular song, ‘Brand New Keys,’ followed in 1971, becoming a No. 1 hit in the US. “It was the bane of my existence for a few years,” Melanie told American publication the Guardian in 2021. The song, seen by some as child-like, was banned by a number of radio stations due to its alleged sexual innuendos, which Melanie denied in later interviews.

According to her label Cleopatra, Melanie had been in and out of the studio earlier this month, working on a new record of cover songs entitled Second Hand Smoke. The release would have marked Melanie’s 32nd studio album.